eak-kneed and dry-mouthed
with what I had to do. Now I was just plain angry, and I found that I
was thinking a lot more clearly. Jack-High Bonney's wounded left
shoulder, I knew, wouldn't keep him from using his gun hand, but his
shoulder muscles would be stiff enough to slow his draw. I'd intended
saving him until I'd dealt with his brothers. Now, I remembered how he'd
gotten that wound in the first place: he'd been the one who'd used the
auto-rifle, out at the Hickock ranch. So I changed my plans and moved
him up to top priority.

"Hold it!" I yelled at them. "You've been cleared of killing a
politician, but you still have killing a Solar League Ambassador to
answer for. Now get your hands full of guns, if you don't want to die
with them empty!"

The crowd of sympathizers and felicitators simply exploded away from the
Bonney brothers. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sidney and a fat,
blowsy woman with brass-colored hair as they both tried to dive under
the friends-of-the-court table at the same place. The Bonney brothers
simply stood and stared at me, for an instant, unbelievingly, as I got
my thumbs on the release-studs of my belt. Judge Nelson's gavel was
hammering, and he was shouting:

"Court-of-Political-Justice-Confederate-Continent-of-New-Texas-is-herewith-
adjourned-reconvene-0900-tomorrow. _Hit the floor!_"

"Damn! He means it!" Switchblade Joe Bonney exclaimed.

Then they all reached for their guns. They were still reaching when I
pressed the studs and the Krupp-Tattas popped up into my hands, and I
swung up my right-hand gun and shot Jack-High through the head. After
that, I just let my subconscious take over. I saw gun flames jump out at
me from the Bonneys' weapons, and I felt my own pistols leap and writhe
in my hands, but I don't believe I was aware of hearing the shots, not
even from my own weapons. The whole thing probably lasted five seconds,
but it seemed like twenty minutes to me. Then there was nobody shooting
at me, and nobody for me to shoot at; the big room was silent, and I was
aware that Judge Nelson and his eight associates were rising cautiously
from behind the bench.

I holstered my left-hand gun, removed and replaced the magazine of the
right-hand gun, then holstered it and reloaded the other one. Hoddy
Ringo and Francisco Parros and Commander Stonehenge were on their feet,
their pistols drawn, covering the spectators' seats. Colonel Hickock had
also drawn a pistol and he was co